New SBOE Campaign Finance Reports

July campaign finance reports show that Democratic challengers in two Central Texas State Board of Education races currently have sizable funding advantages over their Republican opponents — at least on paper. But it’s still very early in the general election campaign, and one of those Republican candidates dipped deep into her own bank account to win the GOP nomination for her district seat this past spring. Only four state board elections in November have both Republican and Democratic nominees. Four of five candidates backed by far-right pressure groups lost their Republican nomination battles in the spring.

The following information is for the February 21-June 30, 2010, reporting period. The Democratic and Republican primaries were in March. One Republican nomination was decided in an April runoff. You can find each candidate’s campaign finance report here.

District 1

This district is dominated by El Paso but stretches to the Rio Grande Valley.

Incumbent Rene Nuñez of El Paso had no opponent for the Democratic nomination. July report: $65 in contributions, $9.81 in expenditures, $520.19 cash on hand and $300 in outstanding loans as of June 30

Carlos “Charlie” Garza of El Paso had no opponent for the Republican nomination. July report: $1,985 in contributions, $792.65 in expenditures, $1,192.85 cash on hand as of June 30

District 3

This district stretches from San Antonio to the Rio Grande Valley. Democratic incumbent Rick Agosto is not seeking re-election.

Michael Soto of San Antonio had no opponent for the Democratic nomination. July report: $11,358.55 in contributions,$9,217.19 in expenditures, $7,828.22 cash on hand as of June 30.

Tony Cunningham of San Antonio defeated Joan Muenzler for the Republican nomination, who was backed by far-right groups, for the Republican nomination. Cunningham listed no contributions, expenditures or cash on hand in his July report.

This district stretches from Bexar County to southern Travis County and includes the Hill Country and up to Bell County north of Austin.

Incumbent Ken Mercer of San Antonio defeated Tim Tuggey of Austin in the March GOP primary. July report: $6,675 in contributions, $24,969.83 in expenditures, $1,720.77 cash on hand as of June 30

Rebecca Bell-Metereau of San Marcos defeated three opponents for the Democratic nomination in March. July report: 69,779.06 in contributions, $29,172.85 in expenditures, $43,076.61 cash on hand as of June 30

District 9

This largely East Texas district stretches from Plano to Bryan-College Station.

Thomas Ratliff of Mount Pleasant defeated incumbent Don McLeroy of College Station in the Republican primary and faces no Democratic opponent in the general election.

District 10

This district stretches from Williamson and northern Travis County to just west of Houston. Republican incumbent Cynthia Dunbar is not seeking re-election.

Marsha Farney of Georgetown defeated two challengers, including Austin attorney Brian Russell in the April runoff, for the Republican nomination. Farney bankrolled much of her primary campaign. July report: $17,975 in contributions, $101,875.04 in expenditures, $4,049.86 cash on hand as of June 30

Judy Jennings of Austin had no opposition for the Democratic nomination. July report: $54,600.81 in contributions, $26,214.86 in expenditures, $36,406.78 cash on hand as of June 30

5 Responses to “New SBOE Campaign Finance Reports”

Becky Metereau appears to be doing really well. Of course, some rich, far-right donor will probably drop $200,000 of fruitcake sales proceeds into his campaign chest in the last few weeks of the election.

It takes a bit of searching and reading between the lines to identify Amie Parsons’ political affiliations, but she appears to be a libertarian — at least judging by her photo with “party founder, David Nolan” on her website. On that same website page, it is curious that several photos refer to “Party’s state convention” and “Party’s national convention” while omitting actually identifying the Party. This sort of coyness and not-quite-complete information makes me extremely suspicious of anyone, especially a political candidate. Without attributing any specific views or positions to Ms. Parsons, I note that the Libertarian Party has not covered itself with glory with its views on state-funded public education.

I hope Rebecca Bell-Metereau and Judy Jennings keep up their momentum. Texas needs more educators on the SBOE. Let’s focus on the education. Let’s listen to teachers. I live in District 5, and I want an experienced teacher to represent my district. Let’s take the politics out of the classroom and allow educators to develop curriculum that will launch our kids in the 21st century.